Home crowd welcomes finalist Fleur

X Factor finalist Fleur East received a warm welcome today back in her native Walthamstow.

A crowd of about 300 people made of school friends, family and fans of all ages, had gathered in front of Walthamstow’s imposing town hall in north-east London to show their support and attend a last concert before the final on Saturday.

The crowd went crazy as she walked down the red carpet. Pupils from the Holy Family School – East’s former school – waved support banners while chanting: “Go Fleur East!.”

Fleur’s sister Keshia, 22, said: “It’s amazing to see so many people supporting her. I’m very proud of her.”

Many of Fleur’s ex-schoolmates also attended the event. Kazeem, 23, said: “She’s amazing and talented, she will win.”

Simon Cowell arrived at the town hall shortly after the singer, pulling up in a black car with tinted windows.

Speaking about the final, Fleur said: “It’s going to be bigger and better than anything I’ve done before. If I win this Saturday, it would mean that everything I’ve worked towards in my whole life would finally make sense.”

Fleur’s appearance came after hundreds of people braved the cold and wet weather in Croydon, south London, last night to watch X Factor hunk Ben Haenow perform on stage after he was introduced by his mentor Cowell.

The 28-year-old insisted Simon Cowell does not have a “favourite” on the show as they visited the singer’s home town to drum up support ahead of this weekend’s eagerly anticipated final.

Fleur, who is also in Cowell’s over-25s category, has received high praise from the music mogul, who described her performance last Saturday as “one of the top three performances” in X Factor history.

But speaking before his appearance in Croydon, Haenow said Cowell had offered “priceless” advice to him and the show judge was “confident” in both of his acts.

“I don’t think he’s biased,” he said. “He’s really excited for the both of us and happy we got this far. I think he believes in both of us as artists. I don’t think he’d have a favourite there. I think he’s just got two of us through and two people who have worked so hard really beforehand trying to make it in the music industry. I think he’s confident in both of us.”